Alstom’s Coradia iLint, the world’s first hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered regional train, has won the GreenTec Award 2018 in the Mobility category.

Alstom (www.alstom.com) was officially presented with the award at its largest production site — in Salzgitter, Germany — during a ceremony ahead of the GreenTec Awards gala, which was held in Munich on 13 May.

The award was presented by Schaeffler, the German manufacturer of rolling-element bearings.

Jörg Nikutta, managing director of Alstom in Germany and Austria, said: “We are extremely pleased about winning this award.

"With the Coradia iLint, Alstom is the first railway manufacturer in the world to have produced completely emission-free technology ready for series production.

“Indeed, we have achieved more than this — an innovative mobility concept that is sustainable and competitive, and includes not only the trains and service but also the infrastructure necessary for fueling them.”

The Coradia iLint is a completely emission-free regional train that offers an alternative to diesel trains for operation on non-electrified lines, which currently make up more than 40% of the railway network in Germany.

Powered by a fuel cell in which hydrogen is converted into electrical energy, the Coradia iLint emits only steam and water condensate.

The train will enter regular service on the Cuxhaven-Bremervörde route this year.

Tim Hosenfeldt, head of Schaeffler’s Centre for Innovation, said: “Hydrogen technology shows new ways to CO₂-free mobility in a sustainable and de-fossilised energy chain, especially in areas such as railway engineering and heavy-goods transport.

“Alstom impressively puts this into practice with the hydrogen train Coradia iLint.”